Category: The Writing Life

Useful Metaphors

‘Kill your darlings,’ the writing teacher’s commandment for which this site is named, is a most useful and robust metaphor. It doesn’t just tell writers to mistrust themselves when they become especially enamored of a bit of their writing, but…

Adventures in Titling: Part One

When I tell people that coming up with a title for my book rates just above a drilling session at the dentist they look at me like I’m crazy. “Really?” they say. “The title?” I hear what they’re thinking. Creating…

It’s All a Mystery to Me

“All great art has as its core a mystery. If the Mona Lisa didn’t have that mysterious smile, she’d just be another Italian broad.” — Tom Robbins On March 8, 2014, Malaysian airline flight 370 disappeared, and for weeks after I was…

Rejection Rituals

There are writers out there who wax elegantly about the subject of rejection, such as my lovely Novel Incubator instructor, Lisa Borders, in her wonderful post. Elegance is not my forte. And positivity quotes are positively the least helpful thing in…